Wellbore and downhole simulation is an area of oil and gas engineering that employs computer models to predict the state of wellbore components above and below the surface of a formation. Downhole simulators can be used by petroleum producers to determine how best to design new wells, including casing and tubing design, as well as to generate models of wellbore movement within a formation and stresses on wellbore components during production.
In oil and gas wellbore simulation, it is desirable to simulate pressure buildup and the effects of such pressure buildup in annular fluid disposed between casing and tubing strings in a multi-string well systems. Heretofore, conventional downhole simulators do not account for thermal transfer between certain components in simulation of a proposed wellbore system. Thus, although existing approaches to downhole simulation have been satisfactory for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.